Demands handed to President Roosevelt by African American leaders on June 18, 1941
PROPOSALS OF THE
NEGRO MARCH-ON-WASHINGTON COMMITTEE
TO
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
FOR
URGENT CONSIDERATION
POINT 1. An executive order forbidding the awarding of contracts to any concern, Navy
Yard or Army Arsenal which refuses employment to qualified persons on
account of race, creed or color. In the event that such discrimination
continues to exist, the Government shall take over the plant for continuous
operation, by virtue of the authority vested in the President of the United
States, as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and as expressed in the
Proclamation declaring a state of unlimited national emergency, May 27, 1941.
POINT 2. An executive order abolishing discrimination and segregation on account of
race, creed or color in all departments of the Federal Government.
POINT 3. An executive order abolishing discrimination in vocational and defense training
courses for workers in National Defense whether financed in whole or in part by
the Federal Government.
POINT 4. An executive order abolishing discrimination in the Army, Navy, Marine, Air
Corps and all other branches of the armed services.
POINT 5. That the President ask the Congress to pass a law forbidding the benefits of the
National Labor Relations Act to Labor Unions denying Negroes membership
through Constitutional provisions, ritualistic practices or otherwise.
POINT 6. That the President issue instructions to the United States Employment Services
that available workers be supplied in order of their registration without regard to
race, creed or color.
Source: “March on Washington Movement: Principles and Structures” folder, A. Phillip Randolph Papers, Library of Congress
Document 5.14.4